50 X 30

I feel like all my recent post have been on turning … 30 .  This is one of the things I meant to write about in September, but if you read the “dark truth about thirty” you’ll remember that I was a bit under the weather that month and also went back to work, so needless to say I’m finally getting around to writing this.

Bryce Canyon, Utah

So 50 by 30 is in reference to a bucket list item Joey and I crossed off our list this summer.  Seven years ago I was privileged to marry an amazing man who had many of the same passions as I yet also balances my weakness and shortcomings

 Hounaunau Bay, Hawaii

Growing up, I had always dreamed of taking road trips and I’m not talking about an 8 hour drive to grandmas.  I dreamt of driving across the country not knowing when or where you were going to stop/sleep and being in a new place each day.  

Glacier National Park, Montaina
 (not my photo, some how we lost all our Glacier photos)

Well the summer before Joey and I met, he had done a road trip covering the states west of the Mississippi River.  Needless to say, it wasn’t right when we got married but shortly thereafter we started taking road trips… longest 9000 miles in 3 weeks shortest 300 miles in 5 days.

Calf Creek, Escalante, Utah

It took us three years to visit the 48 contiguous states and I was ok with ending there, but in 2010 Joey’s mom took us to Alaska for our birthdays and although it wasn’t a road trip we did take a cruise which meant we were in a different place each day.

Honolulu, Hawaii
(Hanauma Bay, Diamond Head Crater,  Pearl Harbor, Luau)

So, we couldn’t stop now we had one more state till we hit all 50!  So this summer we went to Hawaii, visiting Oahu and doing our shortest road trip around The Big Island. 

Savannah, GA

 The 50 is referring to visiting the 50 states and 30 is in reference to the fact that we did it before either of us turned 30!

Arches National Park, Ut.
(notice the little arch beneath) 

My top 10 places in the United States are represented by the Photos! Although this list is not quite fair, by far my favorite states are Utah and Hawaii, they both offer so much beauty but there are some really amazing places, both city and scenic, in the United States.

Volcano National Park, HI

Needless to say I feel very blessed to live in such a beautiful and fun country.

Hubbard Glacier, Glacier Bay, AK
(the glacier is 7 miles wide and it is 300 ft above water, equivalent of 30 stories)

Also, like any girl my favorite city is New York, it just doesn’t seem to count as a “road trip” since we usually just go there.  Oh and trying to find photos of the top 10 I realized I love Sana Monica, CA.  Also some romantic New England areas are the Thousand Islands, NY,  Bar Harbor, ME, and New Port, RI. 

Seattle, WA

PS. I wouldn't recommend doing 9000 miles in 3 weeks; all you do is Drive J

Shenk Farms

This fall I had the privalage of taking some kids to Shenk Farms. The day I announced the trip the class squelled with delight (literally) Ms. Katrinka was so nice that she make a picnic for the whole class.  So here is a short recount of our fun day!

The day started with a sceinic trip through the Shenandoah Valley to arive at the farm where we were greated by Mr. Shenk, owner of Shenk Farms.  While he and I talked the kids enjoyed some time playing in the farm's play area and some photo opps with the cutouts.

Soon the kids migraged to the animals, some chickens, goats and a cow! 

Mr. Shenk explained the differences between the animals, how they live and what they eat.

Mr. Shenk even let us feed the goats some corn out of our hands, but if you wern't carful the goats may have attemped to eat your cell phone!

Some weren't as interested in the animals and went back to playing and taking photos with the cutouts.

I belive these are the cutest farm animals I have ever seen!  Can any one say MOOO!

Next we entered the Maze and enjoyed a farm fact worksheet that was answered by finding the clues hidden in the maze.

The kids broke into four groups with an adult in each one, but occasionally we caught up with each other.

It was a bit chilly but the energy amoung the kids as they looked for the clues and completed the maze kept us warm, or maybe it was the fact that they wanted to "run" the whole time.

The first group to find all the clues and make it through the maze.

After everyone completed the maze Mr. Shenk of Shenk Farms took us on a senic wagon ride around the farm.

We saw the beautiful Mountains with all the fall foliage!

We all had lots of fun!  For more information about the farm visit http://www.shenkfarms.com/ , this is the last weekend they are open

Chickahominy Harvest Festival

A few weeks ago Joey and I attended the Chickahominy Harvest powwow.   This was a work trip and I had to write what I learned in order to get points for re-certification.  Most of what I learned was in the car ride on the way to the event. Since I was going to write this and had some awesome photos I figured I would share it.

While spending the day with a member of the Chickahomoiny Tribe I had the opportunity to clear up many misconceptions about the American Indians (what they prefer to be called).

 First, there are East Coast and West Coast Indians, and much of the media portrayal of Indians is based on the West Coast traditions.   The differences cover a vast array of things, from the mundane to core traditions and beliefs.   On the surface level the dress and housing are different; the east coast tribes lived in cabins and lean-tos not teepees. 

But more complex is the difference in belief. The Chickahomoiny are monotheistic.  They believe in creator God, who sent His warrior Son, as a sacrifice for them.  This influence came from the Baptist missionaries that settled in the area in the 1600’s.   The Chickahomoiny hold to Rev. 7:9-10, “After this I looked, and behold a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’”  This is a far cry from the spirit worshipers I had imagined, or the talking trees Disney taught me about. 

Our guide was an American Indian from the Chickahominy tribe and there was also a member from a New England tribe that traveled with our group. One of the things that frustrated our guide was the historical inaccuracies in the First Thanksgiving

There are three widely believed myths: first, it was not the “first”.  There had been a harvest gathering each year in Burkley, VA starting with settlers before the pilgrims.   Second, is how the actual events of “thanksgiving” occurred.  The Pilgrims were starving, so in order to feed themselves they had been killing and raiding Indian homesteads.  While on one raid they desecrated a grave and the Chief gathered the warriors to kill the pilgrims.  When the Chief arrived in the village he saw that the people were starving and instead told his men to go and kill deer and pheasant and make a meal for the people who were on the verge of death.

Third, the Indians portrayed in most Thanksgiving images are far from an accurate representation of the East Coast Indians.  They did not wear headdresses like the ones in most images, the headdresses that are usually shown are western and were only used in times of war.  Also the northern east coast Indians would have had a blanket/wrap/poncho type of attire in the cold winter months; they would not have been bare-chested.

This information was given in our car ride to the powwow; at the powwow we saw some of these traditions in action.   The Chief started the day out with a prayer that was clearly Christian then we were able to see native dress or regalia of the local tribesmen which was different depending on what type of dance you did.  Also, since this is a Harvest Powwow, we were told that the Tribe does not worship the earth or the harvest but the intent is to show gratitude for the blessings.  

The Powwow started with the booming of a drum circle and the haunting singing/chanting of the men involved.  Then the dance circle started with Warriors (veterans) first and then the various forms of dance.  Once they had filled in the circle they asked that the Warriors move to the center and all other veterans in the crowd come and join them for an honorary dance.  The rest of the Powwow was a competition for the six different styles of dance. The powwow ended with honoring those from the tribe who have passed on.

World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument- w/Photos

"Hovering over the calm water"

During our recent trip to Hawaii it seemed only appropriate to visit the USS Arizona.  Growing up with movies such as “Pearl Harbor” and other war movies, I had a romanticized view of the events that happened and was excited to see part of history.    When we enter the memorial we cross a painted map of the Pacific as it was in 1941, to get tickets to for the ferry that takes you to the USS Arizona Memorial.  Joey goes to get the tickets as I take a moment to get a cup of coffee and snap a few photos, when he returns our time isn’t until 12:15, a bit disappointed we are 30 minutes from anything and its only 9:30.  The nice park ranger suggested that we look at the two museums to fill up our time; little did we know how this would impact our view of that day.

Obviously this is a memorial, you are quiet and a bit somber, but for me it was out of respect and not reflection or sorrow.  First we visit the pre-war museum, this shows all the territory Japan occupied in 1941 (most of the Pacific) and see what life was like on the Hawaiian Islands prior to Dec 7, 1941.  You learn that Franklin D. Roosevelt froze oil trade with Japan in July to slow down Japan’s military advancements. This is interesting but not something you linger in, until you get to the very last exhibit.  On Dec 6, 1941 FDR sent a letter to Emperor Hirohito detailing the 100 years of peace the two nations had and imploring him to continue this peace. Up to hours before the attack FDR was in talks with Japanese heads of states trying to reach a peaceful agreement (11:30 EST, 6:30 PHT Dec 7).  The first attack happened at 7:55 PHT or 12:55 EST, about an hour and a half after talks of peace.  Japan gave no indication of the coming attacks while meeting in DC. 

Pointing to the fact that most felt they were stationed in paradise.

As we enter the second museum, we are able to use old radar equipment, which was new technology in 1941.  After about 10 minutes of using the equipment to “find” the warships and planes I give up thinking this is taking too long.  Each section of the grid had to be manually turned to then a code punched in to see anything and I was about a 5% through the grid after the 10 minutes.   Joey calls me over to the actual equipment that was used that day and we read about a training exercise that happened that morning in which a trainee noticed a spike in activity.  He was told to ignore it due to plans that were supposed to be arriving from California that day. The men were untrained on how to use the equipment and had only been there two days.  A huge “what if?”

As you round the corner you see mock ships (US) and Planes and real torpedoes (Japan). The thinking was that a torpedo could not be used in such shallow water, but the Japanese had engineered them especially for this attack.  You begin to see photos taken on that day of the USS Oklahoma rolling over and read about the number of men crying from within, how people were risking their lives to save others in sinking ships and as you read you can’t help but feel you stomach begin to knot, your throat swell and eyes water. No longer was this a romanticized moment in history where the hero and heroine end up happily ever after, these are real people with hopes and dreams that were shattered in an instant. 

actual torpedo used on Dec 7, 1941

There is a plaque that states: A woman reported that she looked out and was sorrowed to see the great ships dying not even realizing the thousands of men trapped inside.

I turn to the wall behind me and it is covered in Photographs of the aftermath, bodies washing ashore, people slumped over in their car, men, bodies torn apart laying on the ground, soldiers digging trenches with 100’s of wooden coffins behind them.  The knot in my stomach grew and a tear slipped down my cheek.  I slowly round the corner and read about more heroism. Then I see a photo of the USS Arizona, the ship was hit near the bow and the magazines exploded causing the huge ship to lift out of the water. Immediately the 1.5 million gallons of oil caught fire and burned for 2 ½ day making it impossible to save anyone from the ship, 1,177 men died on that ship alone.  Many remain in the underwater coffin today, around 900, and if you served on the USS Arizona that day and were not onboard during the attack (survivors) you are able to be entombed there.  There is still an unknown amount of oil on the ship and it leaks daily into the harbor.

Part of the USS Arizona removed during the construction on the monument.

It is now time to take the ferry to the USS Arizona; we walk on to the memorial, which appears to hover over calm water.  We are overwhelmed with sorrow and gratitude as we look down into the water and inches below the oil covered surface as far as you can see in either direction is the rusted, algae covered ghost of a ship. My stomach turns again and my throat swells as I realized that I’m standing where 1,177 men lost their lives and many of which are still in the watery grave just below the surface.

Top left oil spot and USS Arizona 

Above and Below the Surface

The ship's smoke stacks emerging from the harbor

In honor of the men who lost their lives on Dec 7, 1941

Our flag proudly waving over the memorial.

The experience is overwhelming; Joey and I are both at a loss for words as we take the ferry back. We are reminded of the sacrifices the men and women in our armed services are making each and every day.   Thank You!

USS Missouri  (L) USS Arizona (beside the flag)